MOVIE MUSIC UK

Original Review by Jonathan Broxton

Nature documentaries have always provided fertile ground for film composers. From the epic scores by Elmer Bernstein and Jerome Moross for National Geographic in the 1960s, to Georges Delerue and John Scott’s work for Jacques Cousteau; from the groundbreaking work by composers like Edward Williams and George Fenton for the BBC Natural History Unit, to more recent international works by composers like Panu Aaltio, the world and its wonders have inspired some truly compelling orchestral music. The latest title to join this list is The American Southwest; directed by Ben Masters and narrated by indigenous environmentalist Quannah Chasinghorse, the film examines the astonishing beauty and biodiversity of the Colorado River as it flows through the U.S. states of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. It looks at the uncertain future the river faces as is it threatened by environmental destruction from dams, and features never-before-seen wildlife sequences such as beavers building wetlands, condors recovering from the brink of extinction, and jaguars returning to American soil.

The score for The American Southwest is by a composer with whom most people reading this will be unfamiliar: 41-year old Kentucky-born composer and violinist Noah Sorota. After moving to Los Angeles in 2002 he started his career at Remote Control, working as a technical assistant, synth programmer, and occasional violin soloist for Hans Zimmer, Steve Jablonsky, and Henry Jackman, among others. He started scoring short films and indie features as early as 2006, and got his big break in 2011, scoring all four seasons of the TNT sci-fi series Falling Skies. Recently he has been scoring the excellent sci-fi comedy series Resident Alien, which has also just ended after four seasons. I very much enjoyed that show, but I only ever heard Sorota’s score in context as it was never released separately, so as such I was wholly unprepared by how good his score for The American Southwest would be. Frankly, it’s a revelation.

The score is fully orchestral, recorded in the Czech Republic with the Prague Symphonic Ensemble, and it is awash in gorgeous melodic passages, expressive instrumental colors, and deep emotional content. Like most nature documentaries the score is less interested in being a through-composed narrative, but is instead a series of interconnected vignettes that tell the stories of the creatures that inhabit this spectacular natural location with music that is sometimes sweeping and exhilarating, sometimes thoughtful, sometimes amusing and quirky, and sometimes darkly dynamic, but always captivating, engaging, and hugely enjoyable.

Each section has something special to offer. The “Main Title” builds from a moody, mystical opening for pan flutes into something really quite majestic. “Headwaters “ is calm and regal, with some lovely interplay between strings and woodwinds. “Rejected Advances” is lighter and more buoyant, a definite spark of joie de vivre, with tapped tambourines leading the percussion section. “Of Antlers and Bone” is darker and a touch ominous, with minor key chord progressions dominating the string section, and heavier emphasis on tumultuous low brass textures in the action-packed second part of the cue. “The Life of Beavers” is quirky, playful, and lightly comedic, a festival of pretty flutes and acoustic guitars.

The highlights just go on and on. “Trout and Flies” is rich and varied across multiple styles, but ends with a vivacious dance that reminds me a tiny bit of Danny Elfman’s score for Men in Black. “Vicious Vermin” and “Curiosity and Consequence” are two of the few cues where Sorota engages in some really dark, sometimes quite brutal, light-horror music and dissonance for the full orchestra, and it’s very impressive, suggesting he could be very successful in that genre.

The evocative trio comprising “Four Corners,” “Walls of Story and Conflict,” “Every Drop of Water” adopt some evocative nativist stylistics, including prominent use of ethnic flutes, guitars, and wooden percussion items such as rain sticks, leaving a positive feeling of warm spirituality, mixed with a sense of bittersweet regret and trepidation, especially in the latter of the three.

“California Condor” is a gorgeous, elegant celebration of the unexpected beauty and grace of these unfathomably large birds, which are now massively endangered, and these same emotional drivers also inform the lovely “The Gap and Soaring.” “Mojave Rattlesnake” is sinewy and oddly pitched, with appropriately serpentine string and woodwind writing, and on-the-nose but still effective rattled percussion textures.

“Saguaro Cactus” is soft and romantic and a little mischievous, built around lovely writing for more acoustic guitars and native woodwinds, and this melts into the sublime “Blooming”. I love the energetic final third of “The Jaguar Libelula,” especially the way that Sorota uses the woodwinds as a percussive rhythmic device. “Cienega de Santa Clara” is sparkly and magical, “Water” is poignant, and then the “End Credits” end the score with a decisively satisfying sweep.

I really can’t recommend The American Southwest strongly enough. Anyone who is only familiar with Noah Sorota from his work on Falling Skies or Resident Alien will be delighted at this very different, highly accomplished sound, and anyone who is unfamiliar with him will be delighted at this new discovery of an excellent unheralded composer. This is one of the most unexpectedly outstanding documentary scores of the year, which will please anyone who enjoys big emotions conveyed in a large symphonic way.

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Track Listing:

• Main Title (3:22)
• Headwaters (2:59)
• Rejected Advances (1:34)
• Of Antlers and Bone (3:11)
• The Life of Beavers (2:47)
• Riparian Habitat (2:07)
• Trout and Flies (3:42)
• Metamorphosis (2:18)
• Vicious Vermin (3:04)
• Four Corners (3:26)
• Walls of Story and Conflict (3:10)
• Every Drop of Water (4:00)
• California Condor (2:39)
• Curiosity and Consequence (3:50)
• A Long Climb (2:36)
• The Gap and Soaring (3:49)
• Weather and Time (1:50)
• Mojave Rattlesnake (5:08)
• Saguaro Cactus (2:14)
• Blooming (1:39)
• The Jaguar Libelula (5:37)
• Final Diversion and Termination (2:31)
• Cienega De Santa Clara (1:52)
• Water (2:03)
• End Credits (3:37)

Noah Sorota Music (2025)

Running Time: 75 minutes 04 seconds

Music composed by Noah Sorota. Conducted by Jerome Kuhn. Performed by the Prague Symphonic Ensemble. Orchestrations by Noah Sorota. Recorded and mixed by Jeff Biggers. Edited by Derek Syverud. Album produced by Noah Sorota.